Maybelline, LLC is a subsidiary of L’Oreal USA Products, Inc.; L’Oreal Paris is another L’Oreal brand. Both the Maybelline and L’Oreal Paris brands offer face make-up products that are labeled as being “oil-free.” However, the complaint for this class action alleges that certain of these products, contrary to this labeling, do in fact contain oils.
A class and a subclass have been defined for this action.
- The class is all persons in the US who bought the Products between December 7, 2016 and the date of the certification of the class in this case.
- The subclass is all persons in Illinois who bought the products between December 7, 2010 and the date of certification of the class in this case.
Pages two and three of the complaint list the products at issue and the kinds of oils they contain:
- Maybelline Fit Me Matte + Poreless foundation—tocopherol, isododecane
- Maybelline Fit Me Concealer—tocopherol, hydrogenated polysiobutene
- L’Oréal Paris Infallible Pro-Matte—tocopherol acetate
According to the complaint, all of these products were advertised as being oil-free, and all the substances listed after them above are oils.
The complaint says, “Oil is a term that describes a material that is both hydrophobic and lipophilic.” They “can be generally characterized by the same physical properties commonly observed by laypersons including being less dense than water, being more viscous than water, and feeling slick or slippery to the touch.”
In the complaint are chemical structural diagrams of the oils alleged to be in the products: tocopherol (Vitamin E, a polar oil), tocopherol acetate (Vitamin E acetate, a polar oil), hydrogenated polysiobutene (an alkane and non-polar oil), and isodecane (a hydrocarbon and non-polar oil).
Plaintiff Norah Flaherty bought the products, the complaint says, because he believed they were oil-free. The complaint says, “[Flaherty] would not have been able to understand that the Products contained oils without an advanced understanding of chemistry.”
The complaint alleges that Maybelline and L’Oreal Paris “employ professional chemists to create the chemical formulas of [their] products. Therefore [the companies] through their employees knew or should have known that the Products contained oils and that by labeling the Products as oil-free they were deceiving consumers.”
Furthermore, the complaint alleges, “On information and belief, [the companies] through their employees did know that the Products contained oils, but chose to include ‘oil-free’ labeling because they did not believe their customers were well educated enough to know the difference.”
The counts include common law fraud, breach of express warranties, unjust enrichment, and violation of Illinois consumer protection laws.
Article Type: LawsuitTopic: Consumer
Most Recent Case Event
Maybelline, L’Oreal Paris “Oil-Free” Face Products Contain Oil Complaint
December 8, 2020
Maybelline, LLC is a subsidiary of L’Oreal USA Products, Inc.; L’Oreal Paris is another L’Oreal brand. Both the Maybelline and L’Oreal Paris brands offer face make-up products that are labeled as being “oil-free.” However, the complaint for this class action alleges that certain of these products, contrary to this labeling, do in fact contain oils.
Maybelline, L’Oreal Paris “Oil-Free” Face Products Contain Oil ComplaintCase Event History
Maybelline, L’Oreal Paris “Oil-Free” Face Products Contain Oil Complaint
December 8, 2020
Maybelline, LLC is a subsidiary of L’Oreal USA Products, Inc.; L’Oreal Paris is another L’Oreal brand. Both the Maybelline and L’Oreal Paris brands offer face make-up products that are labeled as being “oil-free.” However, the complaint for this class action alleges that certain of these products, contrary to this labeling, do in fact contain oils.
Maybelline, L’Oreal Paris “Oil-Free” Face Products Contain Oil Complaint